Airport + Cannabis Horror Stories

Flying with cannabis is federally illegal, but it certainly hasn’t stopped some dedicated tokers from bringing their contraband with them on trips. Although TSA allegedly doesn’t really care about a joint or two as long as you’re discreet, there’s always some risk if you try it – as evidenced by these stories we’ve collected from people who have either flown with weed themselves or witnessed the misfortunes of others. 

Whether you enjoy taking that risk or have sworn vehemently to never attempt it, the following tales about the woes of weary (and high) travelers are sure to amuse, confuse, and leave you wondering: “Why would anyone do this?” They also serve as an excellent reminder of what not to do when preparing for your own holiday trips. 

(Almost) Grounded Flights  

Last year, Reddit user substandardhelp reported an incident with another passenger that could have easily grounded the plane. He wrote:  

On my flight home Sunday, a passenger sitting in the aisle seat in my row went to the bathroom in front before the cabin door closed. When he came out, the whole cabin immediately smelled like weed. He casually cruised back to his seat and was immediately asked by the flight attendant to head back to the front of the plane. He was scolded by the pilot and flight attendant for 5 minutes or so, but they let him stay on the plane.

He said he just admitted it to the pilot and flight attendant, said sorry, and promised them he wouldn’t be an issue.

Guy orders a beer. Which, in my opinion, is a bold move.

When we landed, the dude got another tongue-lashing by the pilot.

To us, this sounds like getting off easy. A similar incident from earlier this year, documented by james63111, didn’t have as fortunate an outcome: 

First, our flight was delayed due to technical issues. Then, while waiting for the paperwork to get completed, someone smoked weed in the front bathrooms. They got removed from the flight, then we sat on the plane for 40-ish minutes waiting for the crew to figure out what to do. The crew was concerned they got exposed, so we deplaned and are awaiting a new crew.

Quote from the captain, “I have 30 years left of my career at United, I’m not willing to risk getting drug tested when I get to Houston.”

Currently sitting in the terminal at SFO, no sign of a new crew yet. Original departure 8:50 am, current estimated departure 12:30 pm. Given a $15 meal voucher and they have rolled out a snack cart at the gate.

Did that plane ever take off? We may never know. Moral of the story: always vape before boarding. 

Near Misses 

Every now and then, cannabis enthusiasts get very lucky at airport security. Some report TSA agents who simply don’t care, while others look right at the product without realizing what they are seeing. Reddit user in-fused told their story on such an occurrence, writing: 

One time, I was traveling with 100 THC vape carts. Had them in my bag that was to be checked. I had to drop off my rental, then proceed to the gate. Yeah, well, the gate from the rental took me right into security since this was such a small airport. (In FL of all places).

Had an older security lady at the gate, and tried explaining to her that this was my bag needing to be checked in, not a carry-on. Didn’t matter. She had me open the bag and search it. She found the carts, so I immediately told her that I owned a CBD company and they were CBD vapes (this was 2018, before the Farm Bill). I just opened my CBD company a few months before that, so that part was true.

Her eyes lit up, and she started asking so many questions about CBD, saying she heard it’s very helpful and she’d like to try some. Just so happens I had a bottle of my CBD oil on me. So I gave it to her with my card. Pretty sure she ordered from us a few times after that.

On the same thread, user w3tdr34m5 found fortune with security – only to run into another issue. 

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Lived in LA for about 6 months back in 2014. When I decided to move back to New York, I used a delivery service to bring me a couple bags of infused sour patch kid gummies. In all of my genius, I thought to myself, “Hey, if I get a regular bag of sour patch kids, TSA would be less likely to be weirded out by a bag of those, versus a Ziploc full of loose sour patch kids.” I did just that, made it on the plane fine, and all was well. Until I realized I now have a bag of Russian roulette sour patch kids, and to top it all off? I grabbed the sugar-free ones. 

I’ve never been more high, and I’ve never sh*t more in my entire life. I was in the bathroom so much that the flight attendants got an on-board EMT to check my vitals. Had to explain I was just super high and that I just scarfed a load of sugar-free gummies.

The Art of The Secret Stash  

The fear of getting caught has led to some very creative – and sometimes bizarre – methods of hiding cannabis in luggage. Reddit user Lumpy_Constellation recalled her own successful attempt in one thread, writing: 

The one time I traveled with flower – my ex and I were going to visit my family on the East Coast (we’re CA-bred). About a month before our trip, my aunt casually asked if we’d be bringing our little terrier mix along. I hadn’t thought of it, but she said he’d be more than welcome, and he was small enough to be a carry-on and very well-behaved, so we decided he would join us. In preparation for the trip, I bought a fancy treat carrier that could fit enough dog food for a few days and a matching collapsible water bowl. 

When we got to our destination, my ex and I decided we’d find some flower. We got 1/8 and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, but we were only there for about a week and couldn’t smoke when we were with my family, so we ended up with maybe 2g left over.

As we were trying to come up with a solution, I remembered that security was different with a dog – rather than have the little pooches go through the usual bag scanner, airport security requested that they be taken out of their carrier and their human would walk with the dog and the carrier through the standard metal detectors.

So I decided to put our weed (in a plastic bag) down into the very bottom of my pup’s fancy new treat bag, and we covered it entirely in dog food, like stuffed the treat bag full of treats and crunches. My anxiety levels matched the bag as I took my sweet angel pup (totally oblivious to being a mule) and his carrier, with a treat bag in the side pocket, right through the metal detector. And…nothing. TA smiled at us, told me my dog was cute and well-behaved, and that was it.

Read more about the legality of flying with marijuana here. 

Mile High Mishaps 

While most people’s concerns lie with TSA, others fly with no fear – namely, celebrities on private jets. Lil Wayne, Trippie Redd, and Joey Diaz have all been reported for cannabis use on planes, but one of the most high-profile stories came from Justin Bieber in 2014. 

Vanity Fair reported that the pop star was en route to the Super Bowl with his father when they decided to hotbox their plane – so strongly that the pilots had to don their oxygen masks to avoid a secondhand high. When they landed, DEA agents searched the plane, but no drugs were found. Either Bieber is really good at hiding his cannabis, or he and his father smoked all of it. 

Enjoying weed on a flight is more common than you may think, but most people use a more discreet form: edibles. Unfortunately, overdoing it with edibles is easy, and a lot of Reddit users have laughed about the time they got a little too high in the sky. MicroPlasticCoin wrote: 

They sat me next to the emergency exit once, and as soon as they gave me the spiel, [the weed] hit me like a ton of bricks. I had a panic attack every 5 minutes on the flight because I thought the emergency exit was gonna randomly swing open.

Another contributor, who shall remain anonymous, told me: 

I had a red-eye flight across the country once, and I really wanted to sleep during it so I could go to work the next day. I had some old 175 milligram delta-9 gummies with me, and one that was 20 milligrams. I took what I thought was the 20 milligram gummy…turns out, I ate the wrong one. 

I got so stoned that I couldn’t sleep and was super anxious, so I just pretended to doze against the window so flight attendants wouldn’t talk to me. The worst part was that I tried to play music and couldn’t tell if it was coming from my phone or my headphones. I was so scared of drawing attention to myself if I was wrong that I just sat in silence for the entire flight. 

Needless to say, I did not work the next day. 

Final Boarding Call 

In the end, these stories are a good reminder that flying with weed is always a gamble, even if most people walk away with nothing more than a wild tale to tell later. It’s worth remembering how quickly travel can turn chaotic once cannabis gets involved. 

If you take anything from these tales, let it be a little perspective – and maybe a reminder to keep your weed gummies separated from any normal ones.